Picking a fractal for today’s post wasn’t easy: what kind of image should I pick when talking about a survey? I decided on one called Faces--mainly because it references a question posed in the Dear Abby column.-
Many, many years ago (I think it was July 1974) I attended the Bachelor Party of a friend-of-a-friend. (It was my first and almost last such event but that's a story for another post.) A couple of guys there were trying to start a comic book company (oh the dreams of youth!) and that seemed to pretty much be the main topic of conversation for the evening. One guy would blurt out “do you know what our biggest problem is? Do you know what our biggest problem is?” about every five minutes. (Oddly enough "our biggest problem" kept changing...) That incident stuck with me all these years (along with the image of him literally turning green from all the "Cream de Menthe" he was drinking) flashed through my mind when I was reading “Abby” this morning.
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Way back on October 1 Abby was asked what the single biggest problem was in today’s society. She wisely stated that there was more than one then asked fher readers to weigh in with their opinions. Answers ranged from lack of personal responsibility, to greed (both individual and corporate), the breakdown of the nuclear family, the fact that technology is outpacing our growth as human beings, a growing sense of personal isolation to the lack of respect, discipline, courtesy and consideration of others. These were the responses from “Day One‘ of the column, More responses were to be posted the following day but I didn't feel it was necessary to add them here: personally, I think I can narrow down "our biggest problem" to two--maybe three issues (which are inter-related).
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America has become a nation demanding instant gratification: we want it all and we want it now! “Easy” credit, 100% financing, “low” monthly payments and a constant media barrage telling us we could (no should) have the latest, fastest, newest, model with the most bells and whistles (and if we don’t there’s something somehow wrong with us). Sadly, this attitude seems to have bled over into our national thought process. We like our news like our food--fast, and easily digestible. We grab it, bolt it down and don’t think about what we’ve put into our systems--be it burgers, fries and a Coke or Rush Limbaugh’s latest talk-show tirade.
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This mentality has led to an intellectual rigidity that won’t allow for other viewpoints. All too often decisions are based on "sound bites" and slick TV commericals: we don't bother to research or really even think about the ramifications of what our choices may be. We’re right and that’s that. This has led to a decline in civil debate and respect for other people’s beliefs. All too often it seems that we demand everyone think like we do and if they don't they are somehow bad people for holding a different opinion.
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Maybe it's just foolish nostalgia but I seem to remember an era (I think it was the 1970s) when we took the time for reasoned debate and we actually thought about what the other person was saying. Today we don’t want to be confused with the facts--or even another person’s viewpoint: it’s all about us and that doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
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This past weekend I was visiting with Bob and Wendy Pyle. (Bob is Robyn‘s brother for those of you who don‘t know.) The conversation turned to politics. Wendy seemed surprised that I wasn’t voting Republican in the next election. (Obviously the dear girl has never read my blog.) I explained to her (oh so patiently and with only mild condecension) that I din’t think the country could handle another eight years of the Iraq War or Republican Economic policy--not to mention what could happen to the Supreme Court if we get a Republican president come November. Our conversation went something like this… NOTE: this is not an exact transcript of the conversation.
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WENDY: I could never vote for Hilary Clinton.
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RON: Why not?
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WENDY: I can’t stand Bill Clinton!
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RON: Why not?
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WENDY: He’s a complete slime-ball!
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RON: Why?
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WENDY: Because . . .
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At this point she become lost for an answer. She didn’t know why she wasn’t voting for a Clinton but her Momma would never vote for a Clinton so she wouldn’t! (Maybe she just really, Really, REALLY respects her Mother!) Honestly I don’t know so I probably shouldn’t speculate. I’ll give her that Bill Clinton is a slime-ball! (He is a politician after all--and that’s a trait anyone who aspires to office shares!) Still, if moral character were an issue in our political candidates there would be nobody to vote for. Politics is a dirty business that doesn’t attract clean, upright individuals. It’s the nature of the game.
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The conversation sounds silly but I’ve had too many variations of it with too many people I know. We’re all guilty of making snap judgments now and then but it seems to be that all too often we simply slide along without really thinking about the choices we make. You know what our biggest problem is? THAT’ is our biggest problem!
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